Johannes Müller-Franken

Born: 1960, Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany

Johannes Müller-Franken’s compositions feel like something out of a movie, which is no coincidence since he specialised in film until 1986. An avid observer, Müller-Franken creates ambiguous narratives into which his audience are invited as voyeuristic participants.

Always with a female lead, these sensuous compositions depict imaginary orchestrations which he painstakingly recreates from scratch. Everything in the composition, including the models and clothing, are carefully chosen by the artist to fit the narrative he has envisioned.

His background explains his striking visual language, yet the artist stresses that his compositions are not intended to resemble a cinematic sequence but rather to offer an aesthetic condensation of a narrative that presents itself to the viewer as a single event.